EUGENE, Ore. – North Dakota State’s Leslie Brost tied for ninth place in the women’s pole vault finals at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials on Sunday, June 24, at Hayward Field. Brost, a senior from Watertown, S.D, with one season of outdoor eligibility remaining at NDSU, cleared the opening height of 13 feet, 11 1/4 inches on her first attempt and was the highest finishing collegian.The top three finishers qualified for the London Games. Jennifer Suhr of adidas won with a height of 15 feet, 1 inch, unattached competitor Becky Holliday was second at 14-11, and Nike’s Lacy Janson was third at 14-9.There were 24 competitors in the event. Friday’s preliminary round, which would have cut the finals field to 12, was canceled due to rain  source

Mitch Valli cleared 15-9 at a Junior Olympics meet in Eagan, besting the state mark by an inch. Mitch Valli said he felt dead-tired. The senior-to-be had just started weight-training for football this fall at Buffalo High School. Plus the weather on June 16 started with rain, then heat, then more rain. As a result, the pole vault event at the USA Track and Field Junior Olympics meet was running hours behind.Hardly the ingredients you’d expect for what Valli ended up doing. But there he was, pole in hand, charging down the runway at Eagan High School, accompanied by a dramatic accelerated clap from fans and onlookers as the bar in front of him and high overhead rested at 15 feet, 9 inches. No one in high school Continue reading →

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – More than a decade in the making, Lacy Janson can finally add the Olympian to her resume as one of the most decorated pole vaulters in US history.
Janson claimed the third and final spot on the US Olympic team Sunday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon at the trials. The Sarasota native and Tallahassee resident cleared 4.50 meters (14-9), but had to await a final attempt at 4.55 by competitor Mary Saxer before securing a trip to the 2012 London Games.
A strong headwind, which turned the women’s pole vault competition into a four-athlete showdown for three slots, halted Janson’s strong start. After clearing the first three bars (4.25m/4.40/4.50), each on her first attempt, the former Seminole star stalled at 4.55 with three consecutive misses.  more

The day belonged to a trio of former University of Arkansas track and field student-athletes as action continued Sunday at the 2012 Olympic Trials in Eugene, Ore. Competing in the finals of the pole vault, April (Steiner) Bennett was the top performer among the ex-Razorbacks with a fifth-place finish, followed by Janice Keppler in seventh and Katie Stripling who no-heighted.  Bennett (2001-03) was perfect through the first two heights of the competition with clearances of 4.25m/13-11.25 and 4.40m/14-5.25. She finished with that as her final mark. Keppler (2009-10) also had a successful attempt at the opening height but had three misses at 4.40m/14-5.25 to exit the competition. Stripling (2007-10) opened the day with three misses at the opening height.  The finals field consisted of 26 competitors after the qualifying round was cancelled Friday due to rainy conditions at Hayward Field. Team USA will be represented in the pole vault at the 2012 Olympic Games by winner Jenn Suhr, Becky Holliday and Lacy Janson.  more

Because of the rain on Friday, the women’s pole vault preliminaries were cancelled, and the entire 27-person field advanced to the finals. But the large number of competitors and the long wait times between vaults didn’t seem to bother Becky Holliday, who cleared 14 feet 11 inches.
Holliday competed for Clackamas Community College before transferring and becoming an NCAA champion at the University of Oregon in 2003. But since, the road has been more difficult. Holliday lost her sponsorship in 2006.
“It’s been hard. I’ve had every single job you can think of. I’ve been a server, worked at the airport as a bagger. I did the Home Depot thing for three years and that helped out a ton.”
Holliday said she has been competing in the pole vault for 15 years.
“I’m probably the veteran out there. I think I’m probably the oldest out there. I want to just tell USATF just please don’t forget about some of the older athletes, ’cause we’re still here. I’m still here, and I actually think I’m finally in my prime.”
Another former Duck, 2011 graduate Melissa Gergel, placed seventh. But only the top three finishers make the US Olympic Team.
Holliday will be joined in London by the two other pole vault qualifiers, Jennifer Suhr and Lacy Janson  more

EUGENE, Ore. – South Dakota track and field sophomore Bethany Buell finished 15th in the pole vault competition at the U.S. Olympic Trials Sunday in Eugene, Ore.Buell and freshman teammate Emily Grove were competing at the event for the first time.
The pole vaulters opened the finals at a high 13-11 height while at the same time, facing windy conditions during Sunday’s competition to make efforts by the athletes difficult.
Buell cleared 13 feet, 11.25 inches to finish 15th in the field of 27 competitors. Buell, who enjoyed a stellar outdoor season, was unable to clear the next height  of 14-5 ½, which would have tied a personal best. Grove was unable to clear the opening height of 13-11 during Sunday’s competition.
South Dakota assistant coach Derek Miles will compete in the men’s pole vault preliminaries on Monday. The two-time Olympian will compete at 7:30 p.m. Central time on Monday night  source

EUGENE, Ore. – Jenn Suhr cleared 15 feet, 1 inch to win the women’s pole vault in the U.S. track trials for a return trip to the Olympics.Becky Holliday finished second Sunday after clearing 14-11, and Lacy Janson earned a spot on the U.S. team with a third-place finish at 14-9. All three women met the Olympic standard needed to compete in London.Suhr, the 2008 Olympic trials champion, won the silver medal in Beijing, finishing behind Russian world-record holder Yelena Isinbayeva. Suhr holds the American record in the pole vault, but last year she struggled with fatigue and was diagnosed with Celiac disease.  source

EUGENE, Ore. — The man who was once the world’s greatest athlete walked slowly, in a daze, crossing the track and wandering past long jump pits and shot put rings and javelin runways — places that saved his life and made him almost famous. And then Bryan Clay, the 2008 Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon, the silver medalist in the event in 2004 and the preserver of a great American tradition that modern Americans have mostly forgotten, sat down in a green chair a few yards from the discus circle, hunched over with his head in his hands. The public address announcer at Hayward Field was announcing the records in the decathlon discus, including the meet and field records. Bryan Clay holds them both. He didn’t seem to notice. He was a ghost. “It’s the worst feeling ever,” Clay said. It’s a feeling only the Olympic trials, and perhaps the decathlon, can create. “There’s just no way to explain to people,” Clay said. “You train every single day, six, seven days a week, six, seven hours a day. I don’t even go into the hot tub with my kids during the week because I can’t have my legs be flat for a workout the next day. I can’t wrestle with my kids the way they maybe want me to because I’m afraid I might hurt something. Everything, everything you do gets put into this, and then to have it slip through your fingers …”  more

EUGENE, Ore. – With two events remaining in the U.S. Olympic Trials decathlon Saturday afternoon, Ashton Eaton and his coach, Harry Marra, sought shelter beneath Hayward Field’s East Grandstand from a driving rain. Through eight events, Eaton led by nearly 500 points and was on course to record one of the best scores ever in the two-day event. All that stood between Eaton, 24, and history was the javelin, the 1,500-meter run and a cold wet Oregon afternoon.”What do I have to do to get the American record?” Eaton asked Marra.”Ashton, the world record,” Marra replied.Eaton, with Olympic champions Rafer Johnson, Milt Campbell, Dan O’Brien and Bruce Jenner along with relatives of the late Jim Thorpe looking on, added a fresh chapter to the rich history of perhaps track and field’s most storied event with a world-record performance that defied the elements and Eaton’s own expectations.Eaton became overwhelmed with emotion after posting a score of 9,039, beating the world record of 9,026 set by Roman Sebrie of the Czech Republic in 2001.”This is just crazy,” Eaton said  more

On the final day of the decathlon…
“It was a rough day for me, but it was fun to be a part of what Ashton [Eaton] had going on. Anytime a decathlon goes bad for an athlete, they want to pick up their stuff and walk off so it was tough not to.”

On finishing the decathlon…
“I didn’t want to finish. My coaches made me and I had to for my family. As much as I didn’t want to, there was no other option. I want to be the best role model, and the worst thing you can do as a role model is quit.”

On what’s next…
“I don’t think I’ll hang it up. There is always another team to be made.”

On Ashton Eaton…
“It’s unbelievable. I don’t know if anyone has matured in the event as quickly as he did. It’s mind-boggling.”

On the decathlon…
“It’s awesome…the elbow held…I had to have a lot more faith and patience. I couldn’t be more excited.”

On the weather…
“Weather is something every decathlete thinks about but doesn’t let it affect them.”